In the middle of the summer, Forever Still, a Copenhagen based, female fronted rock band is coming down from the cold of Norway to cool our days with their exceptional sound, and is “ready to conquer the hearts of those craving original rock with a twist”. The extremely talented Maja Schønning, the lead vocalist of the band, along with musicians Mikkel Haastrup, Chad T. Charlton and Carsten Christensen are not just rock enthusiasts. They are professionals with a passion in rock music and are willing to work hard to achieve the best!
Here, we talk with Maja who tell us the story of Forever Still from their beginning in 2010 to today. Before the release of their new music video on July 9th, we are happy to announce Forever Still as Rock Revolt Indie Band of the Week!
When did the journey of Forever Still begin?
Forever Still took form around four years ago when Mikkel and I met at a live show with my old band. We started writing together right away and were quick to discover that we had great chemistry and found inspiration in a similar place. It was the first time I found a musical setting, where I really felt like I belonged.
Describe for us the characteristics of your music…
In short we play melodic hard rock. We love to combine edgy riffs with big choruses, and most importantly, all the music is very personal and from the heart. I think that kind of honesty is our biggest advantage.
Forever Still – The Last Day
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You have been in the music industry for about four years. What have you achieved so far?
We’ve spent several years writing, finding our sound and ourselves. Last year we released our first official EP, Breaking Free, which was incredibly well received. We’ve toured most of the country and played the biggest, Danish rock festival, Nordic Noise. We were also selected by a jury as one of the top 5 bands they wanted to see at the German M’era Luna Festival. Recently the band also hit no.1 in the Danish ReverbNation rock chart and received airplay on Demarks no1 rock radio, MyRock.
You have been compared with bands like Evanescence and Lacuna Coil. How does this make you feel?
I mean, these are huge bands to be compared to, so we can only be proud! It’s humbling that fans see our music being just as good or better than their idols. At the same time I think we have something very different to offer than those bands, which is probably why people usually like it instead of labeling it as a copy.
What are your musical influences?
We both listen to a lot of different music, so our inspiration comes from everywhere, and often out of our own genre! What music we feel like listening to also depends a lot on our moods. These days I’m listening to Queen Adreena because I just bought their “Drink Me” album. It’s super gritty and imperfect which makes it absolutely perfect.
Where do you draw inspiration for your songs?
Biggest keyword is “personal experience”. All the songs are very honest and come from a personal place. I think thats the only way we know how! If we don’t feel it we don’t do it. It just makes a lot of sense, if we want the music to mean something to other people, it has to mean something to us. Also it makes it very easy to give a reliable representation of every song both in the studio and live when it’s so heartfelt.
Maja, your voice is really extraordinary, and from what I hear you can do whatever you want with it. Is there anything you can’t do? What was the most challenging thing you ever came across?
(laughs) That’s some compliment, thank you so much! Since I write my own melodies, I’m able to fit them to my voice. That being said, I don’t. I write whatever comes to mind, and if it’s a very tough part, I’ll just practice some more. The sky is the limit, and I believe you can always become better. I still want to develop my voice a lot and especially some different styles of screaming.
One of the more challenging things I’ve come across is my in-ear monitor sound cutting completely at a live show. Not having any stage monitor sound either, I just had to rely on my experience and trust that I hit the right notes, since I couldn’t hear what I or anyone else was doing.
Was music your dream ever since you were a little kid?
I’ve always loved singing and “writing” songs before I could even write, it has always made me happy. I started working in a choir when I was 11 and moved on to musicals in my early teens and then rock music around 15. Unfortunately for me I was raised to believe that singing was for dreamers and an education was the safe way to go. I kinda had a midlife crisis when I was 21, before I started pursuing music 100%. Best choice I ever made.
In February 2013 you released your first EP with the title Breaking Free. Why did you choose that name?
It kinda came very natural based on the themes of the songs, which in different ways are about breaking free from whatever is holding you down. Also what title could be more perfect for a first release?
Indeed! So, when should we expect a full album from you? Are you working on it right now? Is there anything you can tell us about it?
Yes, we are working on our full length album! Due to possible work with a label, we cannot give you a release date yet. If you like the EP I’m sure you’ll love the album even more. The album will have the vibe of the EP but be a lot more raw, honest and emotional. Our biggest critique from the EP was that it was too short, so we look much forward to giving our listeners the full album experience! It won’t be long before we can release some more info on the upcoming album.
For a newly formed band like Forever Still, what are the challenges you have to overcome in order to succeed?
I think our biggest challenge is doing everything ourselves. We write, record and mix the music as well as shooting and editing videos and taking care of all the practicalities that is involved in being in a band. With so few hours in a day and so many things to do, it can be hard to prioritize, where’s the best place to put your energy.
Tell us a few things about the rock scene in Denmark…
I think the Danish rock scene is blossoming these years. When I was a kid I always felt like the Danish music scene was somehow dragging behind our neighbor countries like Sweden and Germany. In recent years quite a few big rock bands have come out of Denmark like Mew and Volbeat just to name a few, and I think that has really helped the scene catch a spark.
Forever Still – The Key
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What is up next for you?
On July 9th we’ll be releasing a music video for “Towards the Edge” from the Breaking Free EP, so we’re really excited about that! We’ve had a lot of fans requesting this one, and we know they won’t be disappointed!
Connect With Forever Still:
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM
by Demetrios Ioannou, RockRevolt Magazine Journalist
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